Certain embodiments of the present invention relate to a bucket having a door that provides access to a compartment within the bucket. More particularly, certain embodiments of the present invention relate to a bucket having a compartment carrying a heating device and power cord for heating the bucket and a door that provides access to the cord within the compartment.
Farmers, ranchers, veterinarians or any other individuals that own or care for large animals such as horses, cows, or dogs usually keep the animals outside or in barns or stalls all year long. Water is usually provided to the animals in large buckets or tanks from which the animal can drink. However, during the winter when temperatures drop below freezing, the water freezes in the buckets and the animals cannot drink.
Therefore, heaters are used with the buckets to keep the water from freezing in the winter. A conventional heated bucket is plastic and has a top section and a bottom section. The top section is bucket-shaped with a base and wall defining an interior region for holding water. The top section also has a compartment located underneath the base. A small electrical heater is mounted along the wall of the bucket. The heater is connected to a wiring box under the base in the compartment. The wiring box is connected to a power cord which is stored in the compartment. The bottom section is generally circular or cylindrical in shape and is sized to cover the entire exposed bottom of the top section to cover the compartment. The bottom section and the top section have corresponding rigid plastic connection parts, such as tabs and slots, in order to snapably connect the bottom section over the top section to cover the compartment.
In operation, the user detaches the bottom section from the top section to open the compartment and expose the power cord. The power cord is then extended out of the compartment and plugged into an electrical outlet. The bottom section is then snapably re-connected to the top section with the cord extending out of the compartment through a gap in either the top or bottom section. When the power cord is plugged into the outlet, the heater produces heat along the wall of the bucket to keep water in the top section from freezing. When the user is done with heating the bucket, the user again removes the bottom section, replaces the power cord back into the compartment and then snapably re-connects the bottom section to the top section.
The detachable bottom section of the conventional heated bucket can be difficult to use. The bottom section is large and cumbersome to handle because it covers the entire bottom of the top section. Therefore, a user can have difficulty in aligning and engaging the connection parts of the bottom section with the corresponding connection parts of the top section to snapably re-connect the top and bottom sections. Also, because both the top and bottom sections are formed of rigid plastic, a user can have difficulty snapably connecting and disconnecting the corresponding connection parts of the top and bottom sections. Additionally, it is inconvenient to have to detach and re-attach the bottom section every time the power cord is removed from, or returned to, the compartment.
Therefore, a need exists for a heated bucket that allows for simple and easy access to the power cord.